Friday 29 October 2010

The reality of advertising…

I must thank Michael Wade from Execupundit.com to bring this article by Stephen Pressfield to my attention. So thank you ,it’s brilliant and I could not resist to re-post the excerpt.

Here it is. Here’s the #1 lesson you learn working in advertising (and this has stuck with me, to my advantage, my whole working life):

Nobody wants to read your shit.

Let me repeat that. Nobody–not even your dog or your mother–has the slightest interest in your commercial for Rice Krispies or Delco batteries or Preparation H.Nor does anybody care about your one-act play, your Facebook page or your new sesame chicken joint at Canal and Tchopotoulis.

It isn’t that people are mean or cruel. They’re just busy.

Thursday 28 October 2010

Beer Addicted Stick Figure : The Stick Figure

I don’t blog for a week, than I decide to return with a joke. But what’s life without a laugh…? Enjoy.

stick figure beer addiction

Beer Addicted Stick Figure : The Stick Figure

Wednesday 20 October 2010

Worst Ad Placement Ever « Oliver Willis

Stuff to be careful about when you are scheduling a Rich Media ad unit…
Screenshot is courtesy of: Worst Ad Placement Ever « Oliver Willis

Tuesday 19 October 2010

For the love of chocolate…

There is something special about flavours that were introduced to us when we were children. As if they could somehow give us a reassuring comfort whenever savoured again later on in life. Advertisers have long known this of course, case in point is McDonald’s Happy Meals which target children as young as under five’s. While Macca’s use the toys to ‘lure’ (well, they do) the kids in-store, other companies use powerful images in commercials to influence... such as the purple cow.

When I think of ‘my’ childhood chocolate brand, I have a imagevivid recollection of Milka’s purple cow as it’s grazing peacefully in the pastoral green fields of the Austrian Alps.
And if you haven’t seen the purple cow in its ‘original’ setting yet, make sure to watch one of their classic, 30 sec TVC’s below.

What is the one image that you can recall, may it be for Hershey’s, Cadbury’s, Nestle’s, etc.?

Monday 18 October 2010

I couldn’t blog all weekend…

…as I was busy with ‘her’… While at first it doesn’t necessarily look it, it’s a girls’ bike through and through. The internal gear hub means that I can change gears when I’m stationary (love it), not to mention that no special clothes are required to hop on, normal street-wear will do, as pants and skirt won’t get grease on them. On the other hand it still has enough oomph (gears) so that I can take the hills and slopes of Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs with ease. A bell (cute), and the rack at the back make it perfect, the latter which can hold a basket, although my pink bag (pictured) will do fine until I get one of those…
So I ditched the car last weekend, and as of this Monday morning, also public transport – pending on weather conditions of course… I’m still a girl.

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Wednesday 13 October 2010

This is Sydney, too

'The bike bike'
Temporary exhibition on Martin Place, Sydney CBD.

GAP returns to old logo

Not sure which of the two was bigger news – Gap releasing a new logo; or Gap reverting to their old logo after only 4 days! Not surprised by the latter, and just like many others (see reaction on GAP’s Facebook page below), I applaud it. Only puzzled by who really signed off on a logo so different to what GAP stands for. Which is simple yet casually elegant…

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Execupundit.com: "Sell the Sizzle" Dept.

Made me smile…
Execupundit.com: "Sell the Sizzle" Dept.

Perfection

When it comes to putting pen to paper, one of the definitions of perfection is not when you can’t add, but when you cannot take anything away. Enter In An Ideal World 7 by Nicholas Bate.

To have a lovely start to the morning…

(I just did) watch this video that was posted by Michael Wade of Execupundit and originally prepared by Olympus to mark its 50 years anniversary (‘59-‘09).

Tuesday 12 October 2010

The new Windows Phone 7

Usage statistics are fast elevating the Mobile to the status of ‘future platform of media’, hence it is a market that Microsoft can no longer ignore. Once owned it, now playing catch up, but ever so hopeful that the latest OS, Windows Phone 7 will carve back some of that long lost market share.
Well, there is nothing like a healthy competition, and it’s certainly a plus if the product is good. But is it? Thus far it has received mixed reviews, but at the same time it has already managed to convert Stephen Fry overnight (previously a strong iPod advocate and fan), and I personally only heard praises of it (mind you, I better disclose the fact that I do work for Microsoft…).
Never the less, mobile is a market to watch – for publishers, developers, as well as handset manufacturers.

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Discover | Windows Phone 7

Various forms of art…

Some people are just so creative!

‘Hans-Peter Feldmann creates installations in which images and everyday objects - collected from different commercial and domestic sources - are put together in carefully constructed settings or forms.’ (Hugo Boss art prize Oct 2010, more at the Wallpaper magazine)

Sunday 10 October 2010

Saturday 9 October 2010

GAP & new logos

You may have heard that GAP launched a new logo recently. On my weekly group meeting at work earlier this week, this was one of the pieces of market intel I brought with me. I’m not sure whether the team or I was more surprised, them about the fact and me that it stirred some interest.

Admittedly, changing the company logo is a big deal, especially when its such an iconic one. See for yourself here (thanks to Michael Wade for posting it: Execupundit.com: New Logos) on what a difference a new logo can mean!

When it comes to Gap, I think their ‘old’ one was just so much more elegant, yet simple. What do you think of the new Gap logo?

Gap

Friday 8 October 2010

The 5 level hierarchy of leadership

‘What catapults a company from merely good to truly great? A five-year research project searched for the answer to that question, and its discoveries ought to change the way we think about leadership.’

The 5 levels of leadership by Jim Collins (author of ‘Good to Great: Why some companies make the leap… and others don’t’)

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What’s good for engagement?

And what’s good for trance only - Nicholas Bate on how to achieve either at work: Mmmm - Nicholas Bate

Homo proponit, Deus disponit*

I went to Europe for a 3 week holiday in September and had all the intentions to stay connected. Laptop, mobile, global roaming, etc. and only upon arrival did I notice that I forgot the chargers. The mobile lasted for a couple of days, and only after a while did I manage to hook it up via a data cable, but the laptop was ‘sucked dry’ within the first day never to be turned on again until after I have arrived back to Sydney. Then the most unexpected bliss followed, and I loved every minute of it.
And now I’m back, and a whole lot wiser about how to prepare for real holidays next time…

* Latin proverb which in English means ‘Man proposes, G-d disposes’, while in Hungary it’s slightly different, we say ‘man plans, G-d executes’